City residents are facing acute inconvenience as the Government’s 25-day mandatory gap between consecutive LPG cylinder bookings collides with delivery delays of up to 15 days, leaving bigger families with no recourse through the official supply system for as long as 45 days at times. Now, because of this, snaking queues are being formed at distribution centres, with people, including senior citizens, waiting in line for hours in heat and entering into fights due to their anguish and frustration. The disruption follows a nationwide tightening of LPG distribution norms introduced in response to global energy supply constraints linked to the ongoing West Asia conflict and concerns over key shipping routes. Under the revised regulatory framework, urban consumers must wait at least 25 days between bookings. For households whose cylinder runs out in 20 days, the remaining five days offer no relief through official channels.

 

Ashok Munne, a farmer in Katol, shared the ordeal in his area as well. “Residents here are facing worrisome conditions. Every single day, I receive many calls from people asking for cylinders, but how can I offer solution when I myself am facing a shortage.” He shared that there are many large families in his area and that has put the people there in peril. A city resident, who did not wish to be named, said the shortage had left them with no option but to purchase cylinder through the black market at the rate of Rs 2500. Another city resident shared that she lives in a joint family, and so not only was she denied booking, but also, after booking as well, it was getting delayed to the point that she had to visit a godown and bring it herself. Alarmingly, instances are also occuring in which consumers receive a delivery confirmation despite never having placed a booking.

 

A city-based LPG distributor said relaxation may be granted on submission of an application, though there is no formal policy mandating such relief and no officially notified provision to override the 25-day booking cap. Any such consideration, he said, is handled at the distributor level and remains discretionary rather than system-enabled. However, the distributor put forward the Government’s perspective. “The whole point of these restrictions is to ensure cylinders reach the genuine customer and not the black market,” he informed. The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has maintained that domestic LPG supply is being prioritised and that production has been ramped up to manage the shortfall.